Slavery crackdown urged

U.S. calls for Thai government to halt fishing fleet abuses

Martha Mendoza, Associated Press

Published 10:58 pm, Thursday, March 26, 2015

Photo: APTN

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In this Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014 image from video, Kyaw Naing, a slave from Myanmar, looks through the bars of a cell at the compound of a fishing company in Benjina, Indonesia. After working for three years on a Thai trawler, sometimes enduring beatings with the bones of sting ray, he begged his captain to let him return home. "All I did was tell my captain I couldn't take it anymore, that I wanted to go home," Naing says. "The next time we docked, I was locked up." (AP Photo/APTN) ORG XMIT: NY705 less

In this Thursday, Nov. 27, 2014 image from video, Kyaw Naing, a slave from Myanmar, looks through the bars of a cell at the compound of a fishing company in Benjina, Indonesia. After working for three years on ... more

Photo: APTN

Slavery crackdown urged

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The U.S. government and major business leaders are renewing their call on the Thai government to crack down on slavery in its fishing fleets, and to punish people who force migrant workers to catch seafood that can end up in the United States.

The State Department, the U.S. seafood and retail industries and a member of Congress reacted Wednesday to an Associated Press investigation published this week that found slave-caught fish clouds the supply networks of major supermarkets, restaurants and pet stores in the United States.

The AP reported that hundreds of men were trapped on the remote Indonesian island village of Benjina, and tracked seafood they caught to Thai exporters who then sell to America.

"It has become increasingly clear that workers in the fishing industry, many of whom are migrants, are exploited at multiple points along the supply chain, from harvesting to processing," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said at a briefing Wednesday.

The State Department blacklisted Thailand last year for failing to meet minimum standards in fighting human trafficking. The National Retail Federation, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Fisheries Institute, in a letter to the ambassadors of Thailand and Indonesia, also demanded to know what will be done to free the slaves described in AP's coverage and bring their masters to justice. The industry leaders said that in the past they have asked the Thai government to address forced labor, but have lacked specific allegations.

"The AP article changes this dynamic," they wrote.

The more than 40 slaves interviewed by AP in Benjina said they were brought to Indonesia from Thailand and put on trawlers with Thai captains.

Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan, Thailand's deputy prime minister, on Thursday denied there were any slaves working on Thai-flagged fishing boats, instead saying the problems occurred in Indonesia.

"We don't use any (slaves) right now. None. But those in Indonesia, I don't know," Prawit told reporters following a meeting with officials to help repatriate Thai fishermen stranded in Indonesia. "Do not blame us. Right now we don't have. I guarantee there's none."

At the same time, the Thai government has said it is cleaning up the problem and has laid out a plan to address labor abuse, including new laws that mandate wages, sick leave and shifts of no more than 14 hours.

Thailand's junta-appointed lawmakers on Thursday voted unanimously to create tougher penalties for violating the country's anti-human trafficking law. Causing a person's death through human trafficking could bring the death penalty, and those who cause severe injury face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of 400,000 baht ($12,300).

The bill had been under debate for several weeks, and is part of the government's efforts to show it is getting tough on the issue in the wake of the U.S. State Department backlisting last year.

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement issued Wednesday that at least 1.6 million foreign migrant workers, most of them employed in the fishing industry, are now registered with the government and have the same labor protections as Thai workers. It also said the industry will be more closely monitored, with surveillance systems scheduled to be installed on more than 7,700 fishing vessels by June.

On Wednesday, however, Thailand's military leader, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, asked the media not to report on human trafficking without considering how the news will affect the country's seafood industry and reputation abroad.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said legislation can be part of the solution, and she is reintroducing a law requiring large companies to disclose policies to keep their supply chains free of slavery.

"The reporting by The Associated Press reveals that even though we outlawed slavery in America, we're still importing too many products created with slave labor," Maloney said. "That's wrong, and we need federal legislation to help stop it."